Is The Shield Just Another New World Order Rip-Off in WWE?

The Shield is a three-man group that ambushes WWE superstars in hopes of making a change in the company.

Sound familiar?

The New World Order, or NWO, began as a three-man group that invaded WCW in an attempt to take control of that company.

Is The Shield just another NWO rip-off?

Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences to determine the answer.

The similarities are simple.

Both groups are seeking to take control, began as destructive forces and started with three members.

The differences are not so simple.

First, The Shield is made up of three young superstars who are just beginning their careers in WWE.

On the other hand, the NWO was made up of three veterans or arguably over-the-hill superstars in Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. In addition, the New World Order grew into such a big group that it was able to split into two separate NWO groups, Hollywood and Wolfpac.

Second, the NWO had a leader in the head of WCW, Eric Bischoff. This gave the faction an advantage over the WCW superstars they were feuding with. It remains to be seen who the "leader" of The Shield is, but if it is who we expect it to be (Paul Heyman and/or CM Punk), then the leader won’t be as impressive or have as much impact as Bischoff did.

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The final difference between the New World Order and The Shield is that the former was trying to take over WCW while The Shield is just trying to fight injustice.

The Shield is not trying to take over WWE and be in charge of the company. Rather, the group finds situations or superstars who are being treated unfairly and beats the snot out of all the babyfaces.

As you can see, although they are similar in ways, The Shield is very different from the New World Order. However, WWE has the opportunity to make the Shield become an NWO rip-off or allow the group to be unique in its own way.

One of the greatest factions in the history of professional wrestling. (photo credit: tvparty.com)

Keeping the group as three superstars is the first correct move for WWE.

Factions that become too big always do poorly. For example, the Nexus grew to eight superstars at one point but quickly lost members. Groups of three or four have done very well in wrestling. Four Horsemen, Evolution and D-Generation X are some of the best factions in the history of wrestling.

There are reasons to think that The Shield is similar to the NWO, but the group is definitely not trying to be the new New World Order.

The Shield is made up of future top stars in Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. They began in WWE’s developmental territory, NXT, before being promoted. They are ready to make their own unique mark on the WWE.

They are trying to make an impact, and they are succeeding.

What do you think? Is The Shield just another New World Order rip-off? Why or why not?